Handcuffed
by LadyMeowdoken
Summary: Our favorite crime fighting duo has been handcuffed! TWICE! Chat Noir blames himself for acting too hastily and now him and his Lady are handcuffed together. His Miraculous beeps its first warning. Ladybug still wants to keep his identity a secret. What could possibly go wrong when Adrien has to drag a blindfolded Ladybug through the streets of Paris? (Better Preview in Chapter 1)
1. Home is where the heart is

In the midst of an Akuma attack our favorite crime fighting duo find themselves handcuffed together. Chat Noir breaks the cuffs with cataclysm only to be duped by the devious Akuma, who had predicted his actions. Now handcuffed AGAIN, Ladybug rolling her eyes aggressively at him and his transformation wearing off Chat Noir follows his Lady's wishes for their identities to be unknown and blindfolds her.

What shenanigans can these two get into as they sneak through the streets of Paris, looking for cheese to help Plagg regain his strength? After all, people have a tendency to call you out when you're seen together with Ladybug, let alone when you are Adrien Agreste.

Chapter 1: Home is where the heart is

Marinette had counted on more bad things happening that day. This morning, her parents had accidentally burnt the first batch of croissants. In class, she had spilled her thermos of pink lemonade all over her work for the day. Alya was in a state of emotional turmoil because the servers supporting the Ladyblog were down. Nino's headset became the victim of one of Chloe's temper tantrums and ended up in two pieces. And Adrien… Well she couldn't exactly pinpoint what bad thing had happened but the boy seemed to be in a sad mood all day.

Now what she didn't count on, was the situation she found herself in. Sure Akuma's attacks were what she'd consider bad luck despite their (at most frequent) weekly appearances. And this particular Akuma had given them quite a lot of trouble. But this… This situation was absolutely ridiculous.

She should've been more careful, both her and Chat. Knowing the nature of this Akuma they should have known better than to fight so closely together. All those months of being partners and fighting alongside each other though, it was practically extinct by now to be side by side when it came to a defense tactic.

And now, here they were, handcuffed together, for the second time. Chat felt hot irritation with himself creeping along his neck. 'A mere pair of handcuffs can't keep me and my Lady confined! This is too easy!' He thought to himself as he had used his cataclysm to break the binds. Too easy. He should have seen the follow up attack coming; or at least waited so that he could break both of the cuffs at the same time. Yet now here he was, hot with so much guilt and shame he could not look at his Lady. And even worse, this time on Ladybug's end of the cuffs, it was her dominant hand that was trapped.

Marinette's throat tightened as she felt Chat's guilt, palpable in the air between them. 'He probably puts all of them blame on himself. He shouldn't…' She thought to herself. 'We both should have moved out of the way as soon as the chain was broken… and now-' A beep coming from Chat's ring brought her out of her thoughts. They only had four minutes left.

He hovered over them with a large smirk forming on his adolescent face. "Y'know, my parents found my obsession with locks and keys weird. They didn't quite get that some things should remain under… lock and key. The divorce surprised me but with my new powers I guess you could say now their marriage is... secure."

Marinette had to hold back the eye rolling instinct that surfaced when she heard the puns within the villain's speech, but gave Chat Noir a glaring side-eye as she heard him unsuccessfully hold back a chuckle.

The villain or The Locksmith, as Hawkmoth and himself had declared, hovered smugly over the pairs of handcuffed Parisians. Arguments within the duo's could be heard becoming louder and louder. "An absolute nightmare!" a man complained as he struggled against the chains linking him to a very angry woman. "Excuse me?!" A woman shouted. "Do you think that being trapped with you is a pleasure!?"

The Locksmith's gaze then landed on Ladybug and Chat Noir a solemn expression starting to show. "You know," He began. "Have you ever heard of the saying that home isn't a place, that it's a person." Chat Noir... Adrien, felt his face heating up at that remark. He pictured his cold, vast and empty mansion, not ever feeling remotely close to a home. He glanced at Ladybug, who was tense with the desire to jump towards The Locksmith and continue the fight. He had to literally stomp on the feelings that rose in his chest when he looked at her. Suddenly, his Miraculous beeped it's warning for the second time. He had three minutes left.

The Locksmith's evil smirk returned as he locked eyes with Chat. "Well," he muttered darkly as smoke started to form around him.

"Enjoy house arrest."


	2. Love is blind

Marinette shielded her eyes with her free hand as she squinted in the direction of where The Locksmith had disappeared from. "We have to go after him, the city is going to go insane if everyone's handcuffed to each other!" She charged forward only to be tugged back like a rubber band and smacked into Chat Noir's chest. "My lady," He said as he planted his hands on her shoulders, dragging up Marinette's chained right hand with his left. Chat Noir's face slightly fell as he lowered his right hand.

"Ladybug, we are in quite a cat-astrophic situation. My Miraculous will run out, and soon you will be exposed to my irresistible civilian identity. Well, not as irresistible as Chat Noir but you get the point. And-" He gently grabbed Marinette's right hand and gently shook the chains around making a metallic rattling sound his cheshire cat grin slowly returning to his face. "I do say I didn't imagine my reveal to you would be so.. kink- OUCH" Chat Noir's speech was cut off as Ladybug harshly pressed her heel against Chat Noir's toes. She pinched the back of his hand that was holding hers and turned around.

"Chat! We do not have time for your ridiculous flirty antics with me! An Akuma is on the loose and your-" Marinette's eyes grew bigger with recollection as she realized the seriousness of the situation. She glanced at Chat's free hand that was rubbing the area where Marinette had pinched him on the cuffed hand. His Miraculous ring flashed, a warning indicating that time really was running out.

Marinette looked around frantically for a place to hide. They were on the rooftop of a residence near the park. They had to at least get a few blocks away from the scene in case anyone in the area would see a civilian attached to Ladybug and put two and two together. "Chat, do you think you can last until were a few blocks away?" She looked up at him, and could almost see the disappointment in his eyes. 'Is it really that bad if you see the real me?' Adrien thought to himself. Something in Ladybug's eyes didn't contradict his inner assumption. He felt like ice inside for a moment. "Of course my lady, but may I request that I carry you?" Chat practically purred the question. Oh how easily he could play the cool and collected facade.

Marianette raised an eyebrow at him, but one gentle movement from his chained hand she understood, it'd be troublesome for them to jump rooftops together cuffed like this. With her sigh being welcomed by his cheshire-like grin, Chat Noir gently scooped her up bridal style and proceeded to jump across the rooftops making their way towards. 'Adrien Agreste would probably bore you to tears anyway… my lady' Chat shook his head as he tried to brush off the negative thoughts swimming through his head.

By the time they we're safely ducked into the back of a deserted alley Chat Noir had around 30 seconds left. "What do we do!" Ladybug started panicking, she didn't want the burden of knowing her fateful partner's true identity, what if she saw him while walking through the streets of Paris? What if he was a frequent customer at the bakery? Or worse, what if they went to the same school? Okay she had to laugh at that last theory but still, she looked up at Chat who looked just as clueless.

"This isn't really helpful but might I remind you Ladybug, that it was you who told me to stop here." He had the nerve to mention this casually. Marinette was practically ripping her pigtails out of her scalp. Suddenly, Chat Noir's miraculous gave one final warning and as the green light shined momentarily lit up the alleyway, Marinette turned to face the brick wall and squeezed her eyes shut, refusing to look at her now unmasked partner.

Adrien stood behind her, his heart rate picking up. He always imagined this moment, dreamed of it, and even joked that one day she would find out whether she wanted to or not but now, in the moment of it all he was nervous. He looked at his now gloveless hand cuffed with Ladybug's red and black spotted hand. He wanted to badly to reach out and hold it, but as Plagg landed on his shoulder exhausted, he was reminded that he had to fix the situation now, they couldn't stop the Akuma in this situation.

Adrien searched the pockets of his jeans and found the handkerchief that he conveniently decided to carry with him today. It was one of those overly large ones that looked like it could be a place mat for a dish on a picnic or something.

Marinette hunched her shoulders as she heard the sound of Chat Noir searching his pockets. At the back of her mind she wondered what kind of clothes would the person behind the mask of Chat Noir would wear but she had to stop herself. She could not further ruin the illusion of her most trusted partner. Just then she felt a hand brush past her side. "It's okay, you don't have to turn around. I understand." Chat sighed heavily. "I'm going to blindfold you, is that okay?" Marinette felt her face flush and she almost couldn't find her voice. "O-okay." was all she could manage.

She raised up her chained hand along with Chat's and with her free hand brushed up her bangs so Chat could securely tie the blindfold over her eyes. She tried not the think about the way the skin of his fingertips grazed her temples. His gloveless fingers. Marinette could no longer tell if it was curiosity or nervousness making her stomach churn at this point. She then felt Chat grab her hand and jerked away even though she didn't mean to.

Adrien felt his stomach drop a bit when his lady jerked away from his hand. He really wished he hadn't used his cataclysm now, then Ladybug wouldn't be in this situation. He felt a pat on his shoulder and turned to see a tired Plagg. "You idiot you don't just blindfold a girl and grab at her, she's nervous! Talk to her to let her know what you're doing" The little Kwami whisper/sneered.

Adrien rose an eyebrow at Plagg. "I never expected you to be so concerned Plagg." The Kwami rolled his eyes. "Boy, the sooner we fix this little navigation issue the sooner I can get my cheese and recharge."

"Uhm" Ladybug suddenly made herself known again. "I'm going to assume that's your Kwami…" At this, the blindfolded heroine turned around to ...well, blindly face Adrien. "My kwami in particular likes cookies- ehr" She paused for a bit wondering if this was too much information. "Anyway, I suppose if we can get your kwami to recharge, he can transform you back into Chat Noir right? Then you can break the handcuffs and together we'll stop The Locksmith!" Adrien, despite himself and the situation smiled at how even with her lack of sight, Ladybug still spoke animatedly with her hand gestures and the corner of her mouth going up in a smirk when she said the plan out loud.

"Ah of course, but my lady do you not think that it would be of better strategy to break the chains after we have the upper hand? I have the utmost faith in our skills however my cataclysm will only give me a time limit to help you… Perhaps it would be best for me to not make the same mistake again?" Adrien rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand. His last words were… sheepish. His Chat Noir ego failing to effect the last part of his sentence.

Marinette felt her heart do odd little flips in her chest. Chat still blames himself completely for getting us handcuffed a second time, and the last thing the poor kitty cat wants is to disappoint her again. "Chat," Marinette said, with her head down, even though she couldn't see she still felt his gaze on her. "Believe me when I say, none of us are really at fault for this. We fought together like we always did, side by side and it just happened that our proximity during our defense stance was not the way to go. Please… Don't weigh so much guilt on yourself okay kitty? Let's figure it out together."

Adrien was honestly surprised by Ladybug's sudden change in demeanor. He felt blood rush to his cheek and could almost picture his Chat Noir tail swishing side to side happily. "Of course my lady! Uhm-" He hesitated. "I'm, going to grab your hand now okay? I'll be your seeing eye… cat." Marinette couldn't help but chuckle and his attempt at a pun. She held out her chained hand and Adrien took hold of it gently.

"Alright my lady, follow my lead!" He turned around and too quickly brisk walked to the opening of the alley way. Marinette's foot caught onto a crack in the old pavement and fell forward. Adrien turned around to try and right her back up on her feet but didn't count on her flailing about. She crashed into his arms and ended up on the dirty pavement together. Plagg let out an annoyed cry. "Watch where you're both going! One of you is already blind! Good lord!"

Adrien looked up at the aggravated Kwami floating above him and gave a guilty smile. That smile however was wiped off his face as he noticed his Lady face-planted into his chest. He really hoped he couldn't hear his heart beating so fast. Blush crept up to his cheeks as Ladybug slowly lifted her head, once again despite her lack of features above the bridge of her nose, she looked kinda scary.  
"Watch your step." She said through gritted teeth.


	3. Model Boy

Adrien felt his pace match up with his heart rate as he ran through the streets of Paris with his lady in tow. "D'you even know where we should be running to? Ch-" Ladybug cut herself off realizing that maybe it wasn't such a good idea to be calling the civilian attached to her by his alter ego. Adrien at the moment was too preoccupied with the task of navigating through all of the curious individuals to even hear his Lady's inquiry.

Every street that her turned into after the other was either crowded or filled with vendors selling keychains and other things that he liked to call tourist bait.

"I really do hope that I am not putting you through too much stress m'lady. Just don't forget that your knight in shining armor will be here to catch you in case you fall again." He looked back at her with a smirk even though she couldn't actually see him.

A smile played on her lips. "You underestimate me, and was it not your fault the last time we fell?" Her retort was admittedly half-hearted. The gears inside Ladybug's mind were busy working hard on a battle strategy that they could use against The Locksmith once they we're both free and powered up again.

"Your words hurt me my lady. But I must agree, it should definitely be my fault for you to _fall_ for me." He winked at her, despite himself and her blindness.

"Urgh, even the drastic situation isn't enough to distract you from all the puns you can make chaton." She sighed. ' _When has it ever stopped me?'_ Adrien thought to himself smugly.

"Anyways," Ladybug began as she gripped Adrien's hand tighter, both teens running once more. "We've been running for awhile do you even know where we're going?" Adrien was about to reply to her remark when he bumped into a pair of individuals, arms loaded with groceries.

With his free hand he caught one of the bags that fell out of the man's grasp. "I am so sorry sir, ma'am!" The man and woman raised an eyebrow at the boy. They looked like they were about to reassure Adrien when suddenly the woman glanced behind him. "Is, is that Ladybug?!" She gasped. Ladybug instinctively walked up behind Adrien to somewhat shield herself, her confidence waning due to lack of sight.

"Ah ehr, yes! Ladybug here. Nothing to see here honestly, I'm in the middle of an akuma attack you see, and it resulted in me getting handcuffed to this civilian!" At this, she elbowed Adrien in the rib. "Y-yes!" Adrien let out shakily. "Actually, we're looking for… Chat Noir! Ladybug here jumped in the way when I was being attacked so now we've got to find Chat Noir... so he can break us free!"

The couple was still giving them weird looks at this. "Why exactly is the heroine of Paris blindfolded then?" The man asked suspiciously. At this Ladybug interjected. "Aha Well y'know these attacks, every time it happens something new and weird is added to their features…"

The grocery couple still did not look a bit convinced over Ladybug's words however, the woman suddenly gasped. "Hey!" She exclaimed pointing at Adrien. Ladybug felt her blood run cold, she was highly aware that the woman was addressing the unmasked Chat Noir in front of her.

"I know you!" The woman continued. "You're that model boy uhm, from…" At this pause Adrien immediately took Ladybug's hand and ran forward past the couple. "We really gotta get going! Please watch out for the akuma running around! Stay indoors and be safeokaybye!" Adrien continued to zigzag through the streets and crowds of people, making sure Ladybug didn't end up tripping again.

"Hey! Uhm" Ladybug again hesitated with calling him Chat in public. "Hey model boy!" At this Adrien stopped, luckily this particular street was deserted. ""Model boy"?" He inquired, turning to look at her. Ladybug let out a huff and brushed away the strands of hair tickling her face. "Well, as much as I'd like to know less about you I had to figure out something to call you by. Not exactly undercover when I'm calling you "Chat" as were running around Paris." Adrien had to laugh at that, making Ladybug curious.

"What's so funny?" She asked; slightly frustrated. "What's wrong my lady?" Adrien purred attempting to deflect the hurt he felt when Ladybug once again reminded him of her reluctance to know the real him.. "Not shocked that your lovely chaton is a model?" It wasn't like him to get cocky about his career, especially when he was simply born into it, but of course his Chat Noir persona once again overcame his usual withdrawn Adrien self. Besides, he couldn't have his lady thinking that he was actually shy behind the mask. He'd never hear the end of her teasing.

"Oh please, you're not the only model I know." Ladybug retorted before she could stop himself. "Oh?" Adrien looked around making sure they were alone before he leaned in real close to her face. "So, you're into models ey?" Marinette could only hope that her blush wasn't as obvious as how it felt on her when Chat's minty breath was cool on her cheeks. "I, I never said that you lousy cat!"

Adrien chuckled at her sudden shyness. "Y'know, without your sight I guess you can't feel the super girl ego you are so used to wielding around. I might have my mask off but you seem to be the one more exposed here. If I knew I'd get to see this side of you I would've blinded folded you a long ti-" Adrien's taunts were cut off as he felt a slight ' _thwack'_ against his stomach, catching him off guard and making him flinch. "Well you know what chaton?" Adrien looked back at Ladybug to see a small smirk form on her lips as she whispered. "It seems that you only get bolder with your flirts when you know my guard is down. And oh I'm not just talking about now."

Adrien's heart rate picked up rapidly as Ladybug slowly grabbed the back of her blindfold with her free hand, undoing the knot. Adrien had stiffed like a rock at the scene before him. Was she actually taking off the blindfold? Ladybug however, still had her eyes closed, blindfold in hand and smirk widening. "I felt you tense up petite chaton." She whispered, giggling slightly. "Maybe neither of us is truly ready to see the other behind the masks." She grabbed Adrien's free hand, albeit with slight difficulty, and gently placed the handkerchief into his palm.

"My lady…?" Adrien started to say only for her to turn back around, facing away from him. "My point has been made, now if you would, kindly blindfold me again please?" Adrien felt the full impact of the blush that crept across his face. Somewhere, in the gutter of his mind he wished that maybe one day his lady would ask something similar to that again, under different circumstances. _'Handcuffs, blindfolds, I'm really starting to surprise myself with how I'm reacting to all of her easily misinterpreted words.'_ He was brought out of his daze by a smack to the head.

"Ow hey!" He called out. Ladybug once again facing him, but eyes closed. "Model boy I might not be able to see but I can feel your dirty retorts from all the way over here. And also, I've noticed it's not hard to find the best place to give you a good smack. So let's try to attend to the matter at hand? Oui?" She turned around swiftly again, making her pigtails swish around in their place. _'I'd like to find the good places to give you a smack.'_ He couldn't help but blanch at his inner thoughts that came too soon. Inwardly, his was hitting himself, this was his Lady, his partner and probably best friend if she let him call her that, it was wrong for his thoughts to even glance towards that nature, Damn innuendos.

Adrien sighed despite himself as he gently tied the handkerchief around Ladybug's eyes again, taking care in not bending back her chained hand roughly. There was no end to this girl's quirks and sassy retorts. He didn't even bother holding back the smile, his lady was right, he wasn't ready for their identity reveal… yet.

He felt Plagg plop onto his shoulder once more from the pocket he had been sleeping in. "You're really whipped with this girl huh?" The kawami whispered but practically snickered, as if sensing the cruise Adrien's mind was taking deeper into the gutter. Adrien gritted his teeth and practically seethed. "Plagg I swear to god I do not need you and your stupid taunts right now, I thought you were sleeping." He whispered. Plagg simply yawned before giving a delayed response.

"You have no idea how hard it is to sleep when I keep hearing things like _'blindfold me again please!'"_ At this, Adriens face just grew even warmer. With his free hand he grabbed the kwami and shoved him back into the security of his inner coat pocket. He might have joked about the kinkiness of the situation but now anything close to an innuendo was making him blush. Letting out a dry cough, he continued with the knot at the back of Ladybug's head.

After the blindfold was securely in place once again, Ladybug turned around. "So," She began, setting her free hand on her hip. "Where exactly are we headed towards?" Adrien couldn't help but cough awkwardly with what he was about to say. ' _Even though neither of us is ready, I can't think of any other place where Plagg would be able to stuff himself with cheese.'_ He thought to himself.

He let out a too loud sigh, making Ladybug raise one of her hidden eyebrows questioningly. "Well," Adrien started, slightly nervous. "We're gonna have to go over to my house."


	4. No breaking, just entering

"Your house?" Ladybug asked with a raised eyebrow. Adrien couldn't help but laugh a bit nervously. "Yes, well you see, the best way to recharge my kawami, Plagg, is to get him cheese. And being honest there are a lot of shops throughout Paris that sell his favorite but I'm quite sure that nothing would attract more attention than a civilian and Ladybug herself just walking in together buying cheese." Adrien, who had been scanning the streets for any other individuals, glanced over at Ladybug, who looked deep in thought.

"Ladybug and a civilian walking into a cheese store-"Adrien began.

"Ladybug and a well known _model_ walk into a cheese store-" Ladybug interrupted.

"I'm not well known." Adrien replied, laughing softly.

"Well regardless it sounds like a bad joke _and_ a big commotion so I guess you're right…" Ladybug grew quiet after a moment. Slowly she took a hold of Adrien's chained hand with hers."Lead the way chaton." Adrien smiled as he gripped her hand tighter.

Adrien felt like he was flying, and also slightly nervous; he was bringing his lady to his home. He almost couldn't believe it. Fortunately they were not a far way away from his manor. In fact at this speed they'd probably make it within ten minutes.

"You know we would arrive there faster if you let me carry you bugaboo." Adrien called her by the rare little nickname he used. He didn't even bother looking back at Ladybug, he was elated with the situation.

Behind him Ladybug smirked, "Ah what a sight it would be to see Paris's #1 superhero in the arms of a civilian."

"I'm sorry what did you say? 'Number one'? my lady you are absolutely adorable but clearly, _clearly_ I am Paris's number one hero."

"I highly doubt that just because your fans are louder than mine makes you number one" Ladybug retorted. She stumbled slightly as they made a few sharp turns and was about to complain about Chat's jerky movements when suddenly she felt him stop in his tracks. She heard Chat curse and suddenly the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end, well they would have if not for her costume.

"What's wrong?" She immediately asked as she clenched her fists; a defensive reaction. Adrien looked back at her and shook his head. Adrien gently guided Ladybug to crouch against the wall with him "It's nothing it's just, no one's home right now." At this Ladybug felt confused. "Well wouldn't that be a good thing? For us I mean. Also how can you even tell because right now I'm assuming we're not even at your front door yet." Adrien did another once over of the Agreste Manor's large unwelcoming gates, cameras blinking indicated that they were on and fully functional.

"Well erm," Adrien stopped himself. _'Would she think differently of me if she knew how wealthy I was?'_ He mulled over the decision of whether or not to lie to his Lady. "It's just,I just glanced and looked at my watch just now. N-" He paused again before saying his father's assistant's name. "She shouldn't be home, no one should." He opted out for anonymity.

"She? You mean your mother?" Ladybug inquired; only to be replied by silence. She couldn't see Adrien, who was too busy trying to wipe of the sad expression from his face to reply. "Well anyway, again shouldn't the fact that nobody is home be a convenience to us?" Ladybug went out, slightly feeling like she accidentally treaded on a very touchy subject. "I totally forgot about the security cameras. Normally they're just for show but when no ones home they're activated. And I honestly don't want to have to explain why I came home with a superhero attached to my arm." Adrien prepared for the teases aimed at his wealth but didn't receive any.

"Well, that's a problem for us I suppose, do you have any other ideas as to how to get into your place?" Ladybug herself wished she could think of something useful but of course she couldn't exactly think of a strategy when the only thing in her line of vision right now was the cloth wrapped around her eyes.

"There's a door in the back, no one knows about it except our family so…"

"Well there ya' go! Let's hurry, it's getting dark is it not?"

A snicker came from Adrien before he could stop it. "I'm sorry for my rudeness my lady" He said as he helped her up from the ground. He held up one finger and gently 'booped' his Lady's nose. "I'm pretty sure for you it's been dark for awhile now." Ladybug almost took a step back from surprise when she felt Chat's cool fingertip poke her nose. "That was unnecessary Chat!" Immediately she felt Chat clamp his hand over her mouth. A soft, gloveless hand.

"My Lady," He whispered. He was very close to her, almost pushing her up against the wall, his cool breath landing on the skin of her neck and cheek. "Remember, try not to call me out so loudly, right now I look like any other citizen out there okay?" Ladybug could only give a slow nod as a reply.

Adrien still didn't move from his stance against Ladybug, his gaze lowered to see the girl, frozen, blindfolded, and almost against the wall behind them. The gutter of his mind reared its ugly head again and he could sense his face getting pink again. He made a point to look in the direction behind them to make sure no one was watching them but also so his gaze didn't linger on the vulnerable looking Ladybug. He felt a muffled vibration in the palm he had over Ladybug's mouth; he felt her soft lips press against his hand as she attempted to talk. He immediately took a short step back to give her space.

"Jeez, I could barely breathe you know?" Ladybug let out a huge sigh and then grabbed his hand again. "Come on, show me the back door you were talking about." Adrien faltered for a bit before going around the Agreste manor towards the back before stopping once more.

"What is it _now_." Ladybug complained. She couldn't tell, but the both of them were standing at the back part of the Agreste manor property and were facing a 10 foot tall hedge.

"It's nothing I'm just trying to remember which part of the- Oh here it is!" Adrien gently pressed against the section of the hedge. Instead of his hand melting into the shrubbery he felt the section push back slightly to reveal that it was on hinges. "Come on, we'll be inside soon." He led her through the tall hedge and into the backyard of the manor. Quickly, he guided her to the small amount of steps that led to the backdoor, the hedge closing back in place behind them.

Adrien fished out the key in his pocket and unlocked the door. Walking inside they found themselves at the very back of the large den room. Plagg instantly flew out from Adrien's pocket and down the long empty corridor towards the kitchen singing aloud something about cheese.

Adrien succumbed to his bad habit of rubbing the back of his neck when he was nervous as he watched Ladybug shift from side to side. "Well i guess Plagg's already working on recharging uhm… Would the Lady like to see her prince's chambers?" Ladybug let out what sounded like a failed-to-hold-back snort. "Okay one, I can't and won't be seeing anything although I'd be willing to wait there and two," She poked her two petite fingers against his chest playfully. "Never refer to anything of yours as 'chambers' again, okay?" At this Adrien couldn't help but give a soft laugh in response as he led his lady up to his room.

He felt kind of nervous during the long walk down the second floor hallway, eventually Ladybug was going to inquire about the vastness of his-

"So… Your house is pretty big huh?"

 _'_ _There it is'_ Adrien thought to himself.

"Ah yes my lady, but worry not, we're almost at my humble quarters."

Ladybug inwardly rolled her eyes. _'Humble quarters'_ she thought to herself. _'Him and his cliche' words.'_

When Adrien finally opened the door he paused for a bit, shocked that the display of his computer was on, and playing the montage of candid photo's of Ladybugs that he saved from the LadyBlog.

Marinette heard his gasp and she laughed. "What's wrong? Forgot about all the pictures of yourself on the walls?" She teased sarcastically.

Adrien laughed nervously at Ladybug's quip. He knew she was only joking but his eyes shifted to the wall at the back of his room, where several pictures of himself from past shoots were plastered against it. Nathalie insisted that he puts some up for inspiration and bothered him until he put up at least a few shoots from past shoots. He felt himself give a silent exasperated expression when it was only now he noticed some of the gaps in the collection of photos. Chloe, although not allowed in his room in the first place, had insisted that she take some for herself because she "was proud to see the hard work of her childhood friend pull through". _'Pfft, hard work, modeling was never a choice of mine anyway'._ He thought bitterly to himself.

"Hey seriously is something wrong?" Ladybug's voice brought Adrien out of his inner monologue. "Ah sorry my Lady, the bed is just a little wrinkled, come here." He gently lead her to the other side of his queen sized bed and set down together with her. "You can lay down if you want, just try not to jerk my arm around too much."

Ladybug leaned back into the softness of the unmade duvet that covered the large bed and raised her free hand above her head to stretch. "Wow, this is a pretty big bed." She commented, genuinely surprised. "Bring girls all the time here?"

Adrien almost chuckled at her remark; he probably only imagine the hint of jealous curiosity in her tone. The only girl he really ever dreamed of bringing here was the one laying down next to him. "Actually my lady, you'd be surprised to know that ladies here are quite rare, if not non-existent." _'Girls and friends alike.'_ He thought bitterly to himself, although he had to remind him that recent events made this thought untrue. Nino, having apologized to his father about his last outburst was now a frequent visitor to his room, even teasing him about his Ladybug crush when he saw the screen saver.

"Humble as ever aren't you Chat." Ladybug replied as she sat up next to him. She grew quiet then, and Adrien wondered if he once again said something to step on her toes.

"What seems to be the problem?" He dared to ask after a few seconds of silence.

"Hmm, I'm still trying to come up with a strategy on how to defeat that Locksmith. Don't tell me he's slipped your mind already? You know he's still out there and here we are just sitting your room relaxing as if this was a… a"

"A date?" Chat Noir smiled.

"Th-that's not what I meant at all you dumb cat." Ladybug looked away from him to hide her blushing face.

Adrien realized that he couldn't help but be reminded of Marinette when Ladybug had stuttered. He shook away the thought though, having no idea why the girl had popped up in his mind in the first place.

"The Akuma is probably hiding in the lock he has on the chain around his neck." Adrien remembered watching the necklace swing around the villain's neck during the heat of their battle. "Did you not notice m'lady?"

"Honestly I was too busy trying to make sure he didn't destroy half of Paris."

"That's another odd thing dontcha think? It's been at least over an hour and things seem calm in the streets right now, I mean if you don't count the arguing duo's that got handcuffed like us."

Ladybug had to smile at that. "We're not arguing, thankfully."

"My lady when have we ever argued?" Adrien asked innocently.

"Oh don't even get me started Chat." Was all she could manage as a reply before she dived back into her silent brainstorming.

"Y'know, maybe you'll be able to think better when you're not stuck with lil old me." Adrien half heartedly suggested. At this though, Ladybug grabbed his hand. "We're a team Chat Noir, we'll figure something out together."

Adrien, touched with Ladybug's genuine sincerity in her words couldn't help but land a soft kiss on her cheek. Ladybug quickly turned at him, eyebrows raised, about to say something but curiously to Adrien, she hadn't let go of her hand.

"I'm sorry, I just didn't know how else to express my thanks, if I was a real cat I would've just curled into your lap. "He laughed nervously at that. "I promise I won't do it again, that is without your permission though."

Ladybug let out a sigh. "Sournois chat." At that Adrien worriedly looked over to her, but she was smiling. "I'll let it slide this once okay? Now, where is Plagg?" Ladybug craned her neck around as if she had the sight to be able to look around.

"I'm going to be very honest with you; he will probably inhale cheese for the next hour, maybe 45 minutes if he finds the big wheel of camembert." Adrien sighed, picturing the troublesome Kwami going after the chef's stash in the bag of the kitchen.

"Wow, I guess we have a lot of time to kill then, I'd ask if you know any card games but I can't exactly see."

"What about your Miraculous? Shouldn't it be going out soon?" Adrien was curious as to how she had managed to stay in costume for so long.

At this Ladybug smiled. "Don't underestimate my kwami. She's more… I guess determined, than yours, no offense."

At that Adrien laughed. "I can honestly say i take no offense to that at all, you're absolutely right."

"Well in any case," She plopped back down against his duvet again. "She had a ton of cookies this morning, she seemed to be the only one out of all my friends that had a good day today."

Adrien was curious to hear this from the super girl. "Does that include you?"

"Hm?"

"We're you having a bad day?"

"I was having an unlucky day, but when your powers are luck based what can you do?"

After that there was a silence that seemed to settle between the two. They were gonna be here awhile and Adrien knew that this was a good chance as any to get to know his lady so he took it.

"Would you like to play a game?" He asked cautiously.

"What sort of game involves no sight?" Ladybug replied.

"20 questions maybe?" He felt sheepish. At this Ladybug sat up again.

"Is this the game where one of us thinks of something and the other has to guess or is the one where horny teenage boys try to figure out my cup size?"

Adrien coughed at her straightforwardness. "N-no my lady, I wouldn't subject you to such disrespect I only meant that we could ask each other questions that's all."

"Chat, you know how I feel about our identities." Ladybug began.

"Yes of course, and I've obliged your requests to keep the both of us anonymous right? I only meant silly things like what your favorite color is and whether you liked the sunset or sunrise…" He let his voice grow softer as his sentence ended.

Marinette couldn't help but blush at those words, her thoughts immediately went to Adrien. She would _die_ if he ever asked her these questions. She shook the thought away though, this was Chat not Adrien.

"Only if you promise that it doesn't get too personal." She compromised.

"I will happily take that bargain my lady. You go first." Adrien could barely contain himself. He had made a list of questions to ask his lady a long time ago.


	5. The Genie

Authors Note: A giant apology to all of you who have been wondering if I had abandoned this story. I had been thrown off my update-every-3-days streak when a relative fell ill and I had to travel out of town. It's been over a month and again I am so sorry, I could explain all the awful things that have happened that prevented me from updated but I refuse to be known for my problems! Enjoy this chapter, will write again soon. P.s. Since I've updated U've turned 20 now woohoo

"M-Me? Ladybug stuttered. "Why do I have to be the one to ask first? You're the one that suggested this to pass the time." At that Adrien couldn't help but smile at his lady, and at the situation.

Currently the both of them were sat on his bed together, shoulder to shoulder, in his massive room. He idly wondered how Ladybug would react if she saw his room in its entirety. The spiral staircase, the library, the collection of arcade stations and he even had to stifle a huff of amusement wondering if Ladybug would be annoyed that he didn't decide to let her sit on the couch instead of his bed.

"I just figured my lady wouldn't be able to resist asking me anything she desires." Adrien said with mock hurt his voice. "But if you insist princess I will ask my first question. What does your room look like?"

"Chat, you know I can't get too descriptive-"

"Yes of course my lady, you can be as vague as possible with these question I swear."

Ladybug sighed in defeat. "Alright well, I guess the first word to describe it would be pink." She allowed herself a soft smile as she remembered the comforting colors that gave her room a warm glow. "Is there anything on the walls?" Adrien couldn't help but cut in. Ladybug playfully batted at him.

"Dumb cat don't interrupt, and why d'you wanna know the details? Don't tell me you're gonna start sneaking into every girl's room in Paris?" She could just imagine the sneaky cat prowling the rooftops of Paris. Only she didn't really expect him to do that; Chat was if anything respectful overall.

"My lady I would never do such a thing, even to look for an angel like yourself."

"I swear you're too much sometimes." She let out an exasperated sigh and continued. "There's a lot of pictures on the walls to be honest," She flushed realizing that a good 90% of those pictures were of Adrien. She would absolutely die if he saw; in fact when she thought about it she'd pretty much feel the same embarrassment if Chat were to see it as well. She shook her head, reminding herself not to feel so self conscious around Chat; she was Paris's heroine after all.

"Anyway chaton, it's my turn" She smirked and at this Adrien perked up. "It seems like my lady is eager to find out more about her little pet." He purred. Ladybug batted at him once more. "You're not my pet Chat, you're my partner." She said haughtily. "Now, my question is, how old are you?"

Adrien swore he had to suppress a _'mreowr'_ of amusement. "Really my lady? Out of all of things you could ask me, the first thing is my age?"

Ladybug scrunched up her nose indignantly. "What's with that reaction?" She playfully faked a gasp. "I knew it! You're actually a 5 year old aren't you!? The Miraculous just gives you the appearance of someone older. I almost forgive you for all those horrible and childish puns!"

Adrien playfully jabbed her in the side, aiming for tickling the girl. "Actually, you might find it believable that I am 15 years old." Adrien resisted the urge to continue tickling her. At that Ladybug couldn't help but let out a small laugh, peaking Adrien's interest. "Oh? What is so funny my lady." He inquired.

"To be honest all this time I was slightly afraid that you'd be much older than me. Like I dunno, 17 or something." She let out another small, slightly nervous laugh. "Really?" Chat said, doubtful. "This is coming from the same girl that just joked a few minutes ago about how I act like a five year old?"

"Yeah well you're not exactly built like a five year old." She shot out her hand forward to push him away playfully; hoping that Chat didn't notice how her hand lingered on his abs for a moment too long. She almost blushed. _'Get it together girl'_ she quipped at herself. _'Chat's always been flirtatious, but you've got another boy to be loyal to.'_

Adrien did notice, and he didn't have to hide the blush forming at his cheeks. He gave himself a moment to realize the kinkiness of the situation again. Ladybug was just there, sitting closer to him actually. Blindfolded, handcuffed to him, occasionally laying down on his bed. His eyes lingered on her curves despite himself.

An inner battle of the voices in his head was occurring; shouting protests and encouragements. _'You're a gentleman! Your mother taught you better!'_ one said. _'You know her outfit doesn't really leave anything left for the imagination…'_ He wanted to slap himself. Blood started flowing towards something else and he immediately jumped up, yanking up Ladybug's arm with his.

"Ow hey!" Ladybug complained. "Where's the fire? That hurt Chat." She was rubbing her chained wrist with her free hand. Adrien immediately felt guilty, "I'm so sorry my lady!" He moved closer to her, gently placing her wrist in his free hand. "What made you jump up all of a sudden?" She asked still rubbing her wrist despite Chat's hand also being there.

"There uh, there was a bug on the bed." He said lamely. "Ladybug stopped rubbing her wrist immediately and raised her eyebrows. "If this is a pun I swear to-" "It wasn't! I swear there was a bug right there on the bed and, it surprised me okay? Come on let's sit on the couch" "….You have a couch? Then why did you lead me to the bed to bad cat!"

Adrien felt like he wouldn't mind if the floor opened up and swallowed him whole.

However he was surprised that Ladybug only continued on with a laugh. "Alright you naughty cat, lead me to the couch then."

Adrien could only follow his lady's request like an emotionless robot as he guided her towards the couch. Awkwardly, he sat next to her on the pristine white couch that faced the large window in front of them. He then turned to her with a nervous smile. He couldn't help but notice a change in the way Lady was behaving with him, almost as if she was too distracted by him to remember the akuma on the loose. He almost felt guilty for continuing his game instead of checking up on Plagg. Almost.

He let himself look around the room looking at trinkets and items on his shelves to distract him from the awkward change of rhythm in the conversation. His attention was called back to Ladybug as she cleared her throat.

"Oh, right I guess it's my turn now," Suddenly the entire list of questions he had disappeared. He briefly wanted to hit himself in the head in an attempt to jog some memory but suddenly a different idea came to mind. AH! there's an odd one I remember my mother asking me…" Adrien paused slowly, realizing what he had mentioned. Ladybug couldn't help but have her attention perk up at the word of her partner's mother. "Yes?" She decided to gently coax him, sensing that his mother was a slightly sensitive topic. "Please chaton, go on?"

Adrien had the urge to jump out of the window. He could tell ladybug heard the crack in his heart when he uttered the word "mother". But something about the way she gently placed her hand on his made his worries slightly shrink away.

He chuckled. "It's was her way to find out what kind of person I was when I was a little kid. Shall I ask?" He looked at her with a sort of expression that was mixed with a certain sadness that still bothered even the happiest parts of his smile. Ladybug merely smiled and nodded for him to continue.

"Okay so it's pretty simple, you find a magic lamp right? You of course rub it like we've always seen on cartoon shows and kid stories, and a genie pops out of it. You have two choices. You can have your 3 biggest desires, basically wishes, or you let the genie out of the lamp and he can be free." He gingerly brushed some of the strands of hair that were hanging in front of Ladybug's forehead. "What do you chose my lady?"

"Well I'd free the genie of course!" Her tone of obviousness made Adrien smile a sad smile A memory of him flashed through his mind.

Adrien is only 5 maybe 6 in the memory, and his mother had just settled him in to bed. "Mommy?" little Adrien sat up and curled the duvet nervously around his hands. Mrs. Agreste smiled warmly at her son. "What is it my little chaton?" Adrien had a worried expression. "Remember on my 4th birthday, you asked me that question about the genie?" Mrs. Agreste nodded, her expression not wavering from her kind gaze. "Is there something bothering you?"

Adrien clenched and unclenched his fists into the duvet. "Well I was just wondering, why can't the genie wish himself free?" The seriousness in the little child's eyes made Mrs. Agreste's heart swell with warmth.

"Well, you see Adrien," She gently took his hands and put them gently in hers and chuckled slightly. "Your father, thinks that I see too much in the tiniest things but I think that's how you can make everything in this world beautiful." Little Adrien gave his mother a confused tilt of the head. "Sorry love," She laughs, kissing his forehead.

"Think of it like this, the genie is a lot like the people and friends we meet throughout life right?" Adrien nods intently listening. "Well, as you get older you'll find people, and they're going to give you companionship and all sorts of wonderful things to help you throughout life. Are you following me sweetheart?" Adrien once again just nods, worried his own voice might break his concentration.

"Now that makes you their friend as well chaton. And in life sometimes the people that give you the best of them,, need help the most. When I asked you that question I wanted to see how you would answer, and even if you had picked to keep the wishes to yourself I wouldn't be disappointed."

She gently raises her hand and scruffs the top of her son's hair. "But mommy," Little Adrien interrupted. "If I had said to take all three wishes for myself before, why wouldn't you be disappointed? Wouldn't that mean I'm not being nice to the genie?"

Mrs. Agreste guided Adrien back to lay down into his bed and settled herself beside him. "We all learn at our own pace my darling. I believe that eventually everyone makes the right choice." She was whispering now. Little Adrien couldn't help but whisper as well. "Mommy, if I only wished for things for you, would I still be selfish because I left the genie behind?"

Mrs. Agreste nuzzled her son, "Only for me? What about your father? And yourself?"

"I could do that, and since you're nice mommy we can both wish for the genie to be free. Maybe I can give daddy the last wish. Hey if our wishes are the same does that mean Chloe gets one too?" Mrs. Agreste simply kissed her son on the nose lovingly. "You're rambling my petite chaton. Bonne Nuit my darling and sweet dreams.

"Chat Noir?" Ladybug's voice broke him out of his flashback. He was very thankful his lady couldn't see the tears that threatened to pool over his eyes. "Ah sorry my lady, I guess I day dreamed for a bit, anyway it's your turn I believe, you may ask whatever you'd like as an apology for blanking out back there."

"Well…" Ladybug hesitated. "I do have a question, we'll not really a question but I would like you to go with it." Adrien curiously looked at her before prompting her with a 'go on'.

"Tell me something about your mother?" It was said in a shy voice, something Adrien was not used to come from the heroine.

"Oh well…" He hesitated. "I can tell you two I suppose." He took a deep breath. "My mother disappeared a few months ago, and sometimes when we're not patrolling… I look for her." Ladybug wanted to interject with some sort of comfort but was interrupted by Adrien's sudden laugh. "Funny thing is, today's her birth-"

"HELLO MY FINE MAGICAL GIRL DUO PLAGG IS CHARGED AND READY FOR ACTION WOOO" Plagg flew into Adrien's face and smelled a bit like wine as well as cheese. "Plagg! Damn it what did I tell you about drinking wine! You know I can't explain it to the inventory trackers; aren't you a little too small to drink so much?" Adrien let out an exasperated huff as he watched his Kwami drunkenly float from side to side.

"Excuse you sonny boy I am thousands of years old-"

"NOW THAT PLAGG IS BACK CAN WE PLEASE GO AFTER THE AKUMA NOW" Ladybug interrupted Plagg, glancing at the sound of his burp she groaned. "Please tell me that doesn't affect your transformation?"

Adrien took a deep breath, reassessing the situation. He decided that Plaggs' timing was perfect, he had to be as strong as Ladybug, and he wasn't in the mood to grovel over his bitterness now. "Plagg, claws out!"


End file.
